Although early predictions held that the second round of funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) would run out within just days, there is still quite a bit of funding left, reflecting cooling demand for the massive loan initiative, said the Wall Street Journal. So while the first round of funding ran out in just a little under two weeks, the second round of funding, within the same time period, still has 40 percent of its funds available.

One factor is that, as the program has rolled out, small business owners that are its main target have concluded that the loans are more trouble than they are worth, or that the loans do not fit the business's particular needs. In particular, there is the requirement that the loans be used primarily for payroll purposes (hence the program's name), which some businesses find difficult to comply with, given their structure. For example, the Journal mentions that businesses such as hair salons have been operating with a skeleton structure, and so they more concerned with other expenses such as rent; given how few people are working at such businesses, owners think it wouldn't be feasible to spend three-quarters of the loan on payroll alone.

Another factor is that many loan applications were duplicates, as prospective borrowers launched redundant applications at different financial institutions in reaction to news of how difficult it has been to get funding; the thinking was that, then, even if one financial institution rejected their application, they wouldn't have to start all over again with another, since they were doing things in parallel.

A third factor is that larger companies that had taken home a major portion of the program's first round of funding were specifically warned off from taking advantage of the second round, which has left more money for the small businesses it was ostensibly meant to help.

However, another factor keeping businesses away from the program that just weeks ago they were desperate to get into is ambiguity over the rules and restrictions that were introduced through subsequent Treasury/Small Business Administration guidance, according to Bloomberg. For instance, while the original legislation allowed businesses to use the loans for a range of expenses beyond just payroll, further guidance tightened this flexibility, saying that the loans really do need to be used mostly to pay workers, or else the loans won't be forgivable. Clarifying guidance such as this has prompted certain companies to actually return their loans, believing that they would be more trouble than they are worth. But then others are staying away not due to clarification but to ambiguity: Some are finding the rules and regulations so confusing that they think it's just better not to participate, rather than accidentally trip some sort of penalty and be saddled with debt they can't pay off.